# data[].attributes.body
fracking consumes huge quantities of water, which it contaminates with a heady mix of toxic chemicals, a problem that threatens to slow this expansion.
"Each fracking well can require two to five million gallons of fresh water, which is pumped underground at high pressure to fracture rock and release trapped oil and gas. Much of that water flows back out, carrying with it the toxic chemicals used to aid the fracking process, as well as toxic materials flushed from the fractured rock."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Hydraulic fracturing-or fracking-has unlocked vast amounts of oil and natural gas from shale rock in the United States, and has the potential to do the same around the globe (see " Natural Gas Changes the Energy Map "). But fracking also consumes huge quantities of water, which it contaminates with a heady mix of toxic chemicals, a problem that threatens to slow this expansion.

GE says it has a technology that could help-an energy-efficient process that could cut the cost of water treatment in half. The technology could also decrease the chances of toxic waste spills.

Concerns about water pollution and other environmental issues related to fracking have led some places, including France and New York State, to block the process. As fracking increases in dry areas and places that lack adequate treatment and disposal options, pressure to block it could grow.

"Water-treatment technology is going to become more and more critical as the industry moves forward," says Amy Myers Jaffe, executive director of energy and sustainability at the University of California at Davis, and a new member of a GE environmental advisory board. She says the continued use of fracking depends on the "industry getting its act together to do it in an environmentally sustainable way."

Better water-treatment options could change the way oil and gas producers operate by making it economical to treat water at fracking sites instead of trucking it long distances to large water-treatment facilities or disposal wells. The technology is specifically targeted to places such as the Marcellus shale, one of the largest sources of shale gas in the U.S., where wastewater is far too salty for existing on-site treatment options (see " Can Fracking Be Cleaned Up?" and " Using Ozone to Clean Up Fracking ").

Each fracking well can require two to five million gallons of fresh water, which is pumped underground at high pressure to fracture rock and release trapped oil and gas. Much of that water flows back out, carrying with it the toxic chemicals used to aid the fracking process, as well as toxic materials flushed from the fractured rock.

Producers currently reuse much of that water, but that involves first storing it in artificial ponds, which can leak, and then diluting it, a step that consumes millions of gallons of fresh water. Eventually they can't reuse the water any more so they need to ship it, often over long distances, to specialized treatment and disposal locations. Transporting the wastewater is expensive, and it comes with a risk of spills. At disposal sites, the wastewater is injected deep underground in a process that can cause earthquakes.

The new technology would make it unnecessary to dilute the wastewater, or transport it for treatment or disposal. It is based on a desalination technology known as membrane distillation, which combines heat and decreased pressure to vaporize water using membranes to separate pure water vapor from salt water.

Ordinarily, membrane distillation works by applying heat to the water at one end of the process, while at the other side cooling off the water vapor to make it condense. GE has replaced the heating and cooling systems with one device, a vapor compressor borrowed from industrial refrigerators, making it more efficient. "Instead of separate heating and cooling sources, you have just one piece of equipment," says Ajilli Hardy, an energy systems engineer at GE Research.

Based on pilot-scale tests of a machine that can process about 2,500 gallons of water per day, GE researchers say they are on track to cut the costs of treating salty fracking wastewater in half. The system needs to be scaled up for commercial use, but a full-sized system could treat about 40,000 gallons per day.

The technology won't be useful everywhere, says Mark Boling, president of V+ Development Solutions, a division of the natural gas producer Southwestern Energy, since in some places the wastewater isn't very salty. But it could help in places where the wastewater is too salty to be treated with existing technologies, or in dry areas such as the Eagle Ford shale deposit in Texas, he says. The technology, if it works as advertised, "would make a big difference," he says.

Kevin Bullis Senior Editor, Materials

My reporting as ... MIT Technology Review's senior editor for materials has taken me, among other places, to the oil-rich deserts of the Middle East and to China, where mountains are being carved away to build the looming cities. More

Growing up, I lived for a time in the Philippines, where I knew people who lit their tiny homes with single lantern batteries or struggled to breathe through the dense diesel fumes of Manila, so I have a feel for the pressing need around the world for both cheap energy and clean energy.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
GE Water-Treatment System Could Clean Up Fracking

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hydraulic fracturing-or fracking-has unlocked vast amounts of oil and natural gas from shale rock in the United States, and has the potential to do the same around the globe (see " Natural Gas Changes the Energy Map ").

# data[].attributes.body
This Case has proven the detrimental water effects this fracking incident has caused. with major leaking and issues for local farming, the gas leaking ruins not only the water, but the land too.

# data[].attributes.headline
Bradford County Pennsylvania Case Study - WATER 

# data[].attributes.subject
Bradford County Pennsylvania Case Study - WATER 

# data[].attributes.body
"Many landowners, especially struggling dairy farmers, have benefited from leasing their land to the gas industry. But several people in Bradford County have seen their private water wells contaminated by stray methane gas."
"Some Bradford County landowners have also recently started to complain about the amount of deductions drillers take from their monthly royalty checks. Most of the complaints have been focused on Chesapeake Energy, which is one of the most active companies in the county."
"The controversy over check deductions lead to a state Senate hearing on the issue

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
State and local officials celebrated the commissioning Thursday of what's been dubbed the first "Marcellus Shale" power plant. The Liberty Power Plant in Bradford County is one of three natural gas plants being built in Pennsylvania by Panda Power Funds, a private equity firm based in Dallas, Texas. The company plans to commission its sister [...]

When the Marcellus Shale gas boom was taking off, Bradford County welcomed it with open arms. With more than 1,000 active wells, this region in north-central Pennsylvania became one of the most heavily drilled places in the state. But the enthusiasm turned to anger, and many people now allege they're being cheated out of royalty money [...]

Residents in one of the most drilled-on parts of Pennsylvania want to block companies from producing natural gas, citing anger over royalty payments. The supervisors in Wilmot Township, Bradford County plan to pass a resolution Tuesday demanding, "production be discontinued from wells where landowners are having their royalty checks diminished to nothing or nearly nothing." Wilmot [...]

Four years ago StateImpact Pennsylvania visited Towanda to see how the Marcellus Shale natural gas boom was changing the pace of life. We returned this year to see what happened after the rigs left town. Watch our latest video, After the Boom.

Contaminants related to shale gas production found in well water in Northeast Pennsylvania likely results from surface spills and leaks, rather than fluid migrating up from fracked wells, according to a new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study also found a correlation between detectable hydrocarbons and [...]

A study released today in the journal PLOS ONE shows a rise in hospitalization rates that researchers say correspond to an increase in the number of shale gas wells in Northeast Pennsylvania. The report used information from the Department of Environmental Protection along with data from the Pennsylvania Healthcare Cost Containment Council between 2007 to [...]

A federal investigation into links between fracking and drinking water contamination in Bradford and Susquehanna Counties found some private water wells had been damaged by methane and ethane migration caused by nearby fracking. But the report found no evidence that homeowners' private water wells and springs had been affected by frack fluids or waste water. In [...]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's long-awaited report on fracking and drinking water is short on new research, and avoids discussing some high-profile cases where gas development is alleged to have contaminated water, analysts said. The report, issued on June 4, some four years after the EPA began its investigation, was immediately hailed by both the [...]

An article in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, published today, says measurements of air pollution from Marcellus drilling and transportation sites in Bradford and Sullivan counties were lower than the researchers expected. The study, "Atmosphere Emission Characterization of Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Development Sites," also reports levels of methane emissions were higher than those indicated [...]

New research published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows evidence of a connection between gas drilling and water contamination that occurred in Bradford County in 2010. The researchers used a new method of testing for contaminants that can detect much smaller amounts of chemicals than the instruments typically used in commercial [...]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Pennsylvania's Busiest Drilling County: Bradford

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
More wells have been drilled in Bradford County than any other county in Pennsylvania. The shale boom has profoundly changed Bradford County's towns, bringing a population boom, driving up rents and filling hotel rooms. In 2009, 2010 and 2011, it was nearly impossible to find an empty hotel room in Bradford County.

# data[].attributes.body
"Aliso Canyon was a major producer of hydraulically fractured gas, compared to California’s other natural gas storage facilities."
"State officials have indicated well SS-25 could be leaking around 500 feet below ground. The nearby well, SS 4-0, was fracked at deeper than 9,000 feet."

# data[].attributes.body
"More than two months after Southern California Gas Co. detected a leak at its Aliso Canyon field, observers are searching for reasons the well may have failed. Some environmentalists are drawing attention to fracking, while experts caution that such a rupture is unlikely."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
State regulators are investigating whether the controversial drilling practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, contributed to the massive natural gas leak near Porter Ranch.

Fracking at Aliso Canyon had not been widely reported, though it is common at California's underground gas storage facilities.

More than two months after Southern California Gas Co. detected a leak at its Aliso Canyon field, observers are searching for reasons the well may have failed. Some environmentalists are drawing attention to fracking, while experts caution that such a rupture is unlikely.

The leaking well's maintenance records don't indicate that it was fracked, according to a review of the file released by the state Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources. But at least one nearby well in Aliso Canyon was fracked, the records show.

The process releases gas by directing pressurized liquid and fracturing rock. Called "well stimulation," fracking is used by natural gas operators to increase production from underground reserves.

A state-commissioned report found that Aliso Canyon was a major producer of hydraulically fractured gas, compared to California's other natural gas storage facilities. Collectively, about a third of the gas stored in these state reservoirs is derived from fracking, according to the 2015 report by the California Council on Science and Technology.

"Obviously, fracking these old wells raises some real concerns about dangers to well integrity - fracking can cause casing to fail," said Patrick Sullivan, spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity.

But rupturing a well casing because of high-pressure fracking is unusual, according to Paul Bommer, senior lecturer in the Department of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Texas, Austin. And it would only affect the well that was fracked, he said.

Another concern would be one well's fracking-produced rock fissures could cause another well casing to rupture. That might happen if the fracking and the leak were at the same depth, Bommer said, but it would be "very unlikely" to affect another well at a shallower depth.

State officials have indicated well SS-25 could be leaking around 500 feet below ground. The nearby well, SS 4-0, was fracked at deeper than 9,000 feet.

How deep the fracking occurred is key, said Gene Nelson, a physical sciences professor at Cuesta College in San Luis Obisbo. The process could be "very benign," he said, if it was limited to the natural gas reservoir, and not deeper.

Environmentalists and state officials aren't ready to rule it out as a possible cause yet.

"In fracking, you can't control exactly where the fissures are going to go," said Kyle Ferrar western program coordinator for the environmental group FracTracker Alliance. "It's a possible cause, but it's impossible to know if it happened."

In their investigation plan, state officials say they will examine well records, including those pertaining to "well stimulation operations."

"These are the kinds of questions that will be examined as a part of the division's root cause analysis," Department of Conservation Chief Deputy Jason Marshall said in an email.

A representative from the gas company did not respond to a request for comment on the fracking issue, but said, "We won't speculate on the cause of the leak."
This article has been updated to reflect added comment from Bommer.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Regulators probing whether fracking was connected to Aliso Canyon gas well leak

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
State regulators are investigating whether the controversial drilling practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, contributed to the massive natural gas leak near Porter Ranch. Fracking at Aliso Canyon had not been widely reported, though it is common at California's underground gas storage facilities. More than two months after Southern California Gas Co.